LJD to merge with JDS as party give go ahead

KOZHIKODE: The Lok Tantrik Janata Dal (LJD) has decided to merge with the Janata Dal S (JDS). The go-ahead was given at the LJD state committee meeting held in Kozhikode yesterday. The LJD meeting was convened on May 24 in Kochi following a discussion between the leaders of the two parties. Both parties are constituents of the Left Front.

When the parties merge into a single party, JDS president Matthew T. Thomas will hold the state presidency. LJD state president Shreyams Kumar will be the national general secretary. At the beginning of the merger talks, the LJD had demanded the presidency, but JDS national president Deve Gowda had rejected it. Shreyams Kumar said the agreement was to share the chairmanship of district committees with seven members each. State committee members will be shared equally. The two parties have 144 state committee members.

The Janata Dal, the leading socialist party in Kerala, split in 2009. While one faction sided with the LDF, the other joined the UDF under the leadership of Veerendra Kumar. LJD returned to the LDF in 2018.